Sacrifice
by Gunxswordalways
Summary: Based off the Divergent and Hunger Games is an apocalyptic story that will captivate your mind. Kalia lives in a town named Gual, surrounded & threatened by a forest of demons. Each month two people from the town are selected to be sacrificed to these demons in exchange for the protect of their town. What happens though, when the rules are bent and Kalia is chosen to be sacrificed
1. Secrets by the Lake

**CH. 1 - Down by the Lake**

Kalia squatted down carefully into the soft moist grass. It seemed to be the only flourishing vegetation in the entire town. Flipping off her brand new sneakers her father had boughten her, she stretched her long tan legs out and dipped her curved toes into a sparkling lake below her. It was the sole lake in her minuscule town Gual, and it truly sparkled at these times early in the morning. Squinting in the distance, she calmly let her eyes concentrate on the dawning sky and watched the large citrusy sun push itself over the enormous, pointy, wooden-blockades that surrounded all of Gual. Resting her head back on a large oak tree she slowly slid her eyes closed and released a peaceful sigh, trying to enjoy another early morning sunrise.

"You can't tell me that you enjoy doing this every morning." Grumbled a low-toned, irritated voice behind her.

"You know you aren't supposed to be here on the North side of town Van." She stated, not even flinching a single muscle.

"And when has that ever stopped me before? You rich North side folk don't scare me."

She waved a hand of dismissal. "Why don't you try laying here next to me and just relax for once?" She patted the cushioned sod next to her, gesturing for her male friend to stop being a grouch and take a seat. There was a moment of silence, and she could feel him considering the thought of flopping down next to her. He quickly disregarded it and swung an arm around the oak tree.

"You know, Sacrifice day is soon," he stated out of the blue, kicking off his shoes and digging his bare toes into some heavy moss. Kalia groaned, she really hated when he brought that day up. The reminder of innocent people being picked out of a basket and ruthlessly thrown into the demon-filled wilderness, wasn't really her cup of tea.

Rolling over, she raised her eyes and shifted her body to glare at her best friend. She observed the sun finally peek over the wooden barriers and shoot its piercing rays off of Van's, surprisingly, bare chiseled chest. He stood very tall and confident; black shaggy hair with golden ends fell over his glistening green emerald eyes. A long sharp nose formed down his face connected by a crooked bridge; a result from a little scrap-up he had jumped into as a younger teen. He had a strong jaw line that made him seem a lot older than 19 years old. His skin was hardened out and deeply tanned from all the manual labour he endured from working outside in the small farm his dad owned.

Kalia nodded, "Yes, I know. Don't worry I always rig the ballets to get you and the rest of our friends out of the drawings." Van shook his head in dismay and finally plopped down next to her, snagging a piece of her wavy blond hair between his burly fingers. He began to twirl and play with it, becoming slightly amused before shaking out of the childish trance and back to serious matters.

"I heard the council is going to have a mix up this year… more people will be chosen to be sacrificed to the Shentani Demons. The drawings won't all be South siders any longer."

He paused and sat up in a straight posture, "_We assure you, townspeople of Gual, the ballet droppings are equal on both sides of the town. Both North and South have equal chances of their names getting drawn. Everyone gets their chance to represent our town for the sacrifices_!" he mimicked sarcastically. "What a load of garbage! A North side hasn't been drawn ever since my father was a child…." He trailed off, dropping the lock of her hair and eyeing her with deep worry. His forehead formed a couple of deep creases and his chestnut coloured lips pressed into a hard grim line.

Kalia laughed nervously, "Wh…why are you acting so worried. My dad is one of the top members on the council, it's not like he is going to be chosen himself." Van shook his head, indicating that was not what he meant. "Well I don't have a mother any longer … or any siblings… so that couldn't be it." He shook his head again, his hair repositioning down his face. "Wait… what are you say…"

"Well hello you two loooove birds!" a small, cheery girl interrupted out of no where. She skipped out of the sunlight's harsh glare, whistling a common folk song while dragging an unenthusiastic boy behind her. Jumping up simultaneously, Kalia and Van greeted the two with large grins.

The girl ran, over to Kalia and embraced her in a warm hug.

"Hey Dayran, what are you two doing up here so early in the morning?" Kalia asked her friend, who joyfully returned to the silent guy behind her and giving him a cute peck on the cheek, while intertwining her small fingers with his large ones. Van walked up to the guy and slapped him hard on the back. He winced, but returned him weary smile and a hard slug on the shoulder with his free hand.

The small girl laughed in snorts, "Oh, me and Leeshof decided to take a secret morning stroll by the lake and coincidentally, do did you two!" She jeered, giving Kalia a wink of approval. Kalia blushed, not preferring the insinuation of her and Van being an item. She sheepishly shook her head in disagreement to that statement.

Van watched Kalia's reactions with a frown. He turned towards Leeshof poked at his glasses., "New shades today bud?" He nodded back in reply, silently shoving up his red, thickly rimmed glasses to the highest point of his nose. Leeshof was a quiet yet brilliant guy and Van's best guy-friend. Tall and lanky, with bright-blue curly hair and soft hazel eyes. Freckles scattered around his pale face and underneath his specs, completely hiding a young handsome face. The two watched as Leeshof's eyes gazed down towards his girl friend in such admiration. Both of their own eyes followed as well, observing the smiley Dayran. Her excited eyes were enthusiastically following a small dragonfly, which was lazily buzzing over their heads.

Dayran was so bubbly and ecstatic all the time, always turning every bad situation into a positive one, no matter the circumstances. Her purple and green spiky hair, swayed in the slight breeze as she bobbed her head up and down. She flashed her yellow teeth with a toothy grin, which oddly, made her stunning sparkling pool blue eyes, stand out clearer than day and night. Her red skin, short pointy nose, and tiny body ratio did not really make Dayran a "beautiful girl". Everyone in the South side of town ignored that, for the fact of her radiant personality.

Kalia surveyed her, smiling with veneration. She was actually quite jealous of her. Even though she herself had what many people called, "beautiful physical features", tanned skin, a curved yet skinny body, and white teeth; her own personality was harsh and uninviting and completely unlike Dayran. She had a hard time getting along with people, besides her few close friends.

Kalia looked at her three great friends and beamed inside. "I'm a North side and am best friends with all South siders, what a world do I live in."

The town of Gual long ago had been split up into two sections, the North side and the South side. It was done to keep the sophisticated rich people in the North, away from the rebellious poor folk in the South part of town. Kalia felt like she was never a part of a North side, even if her father was a chairman in the Sacrificing council. She knew she was a rebel, deep down in her heart.

"Alright cuties, what were you guys talking about?" Dayran finally inquired, letting go of Leeshof's hand and bouncing down to the lake. Kalia and Van gave each other a worried look, wondering if they should tell their friends about their previous conversation.

"It's obvious hon," Leeshof answered his girlfriend before they could, "Van was warning Kalia about the new justifications of the Sacrifice Ceremony. He probably told her that she and the rest of us have a greater chance of getting chosen now." He looked up at Van while pushing up his glasses, "Am I correct?"

Van nodded. "Smart ass…"he mumbled

"You are right. I don't think…any of us are safe this year." Dayran indicated in a troubled tone. "You may have rigged the ballets sweetheart, but the council members are smarter than that."

Kalia frowned, "My father is on the council though. He knows I rig it and doesn't say anything to the other council members. He isn't as strict as the rest of them anyways." AS she said that, the three of them all turned and gave her a skeptical look.

"Darling, you know _why_ you father is on the council though, don't you?" Dayran looked up at her sympathetically. "I mean you know he isn't as bright as the other members let him think he is…." She rolled up her ratted jeans and slowly waded into the lake water. "Ooo! It is cold!" she yelped. The other two nodded in agreement, avoiding eye contact with Kalia.

Kalia glared at all of them, "My father is not an idiot! I don't care what everyone says. And I know what you are thinking, no he is not "just on the council" because our family line started the sacrifice ceremony with the Shentani Demons!" she barked defensively. Picking up a rock, she chucked it at the lake in anger. Reaching down to grab another one, Van snatched her hand instantly and gently removed the rock away from her palm and slid his own hand in replacement. Kalia's heart started to pound. She didn't like that feeling of closeness or affection. Immediately, she shook away his hand and walked over by the oak tree that Leeshof was leaning against. Van sighed with disappointment and rolled up his pants to join Dayran in the lake.

The sun began to rise higher in the sky and soon all of the friends ended up standing in the lake, silently skipping rocks, not sure what to say to one another.

"I keep having nightmares of those horrible screams…" Leeshof finally muttered, breaking the silence. He dropped a large stone into the water and blankly stared down at the large ripples in the water smash against his legs and slowly die down. The rest of them stopped what they were doing and turned towards him. Dayran walked up to him and sunk her tiny hand into his, giving him a gentle kiss on his thin pink lips. "My sister… she didn't even have a chance…" he choked out. "They just threw her out there with no chance. …she was only fourteen."

Kalia quivered. She recalled the day Leeshof's younger sister being called up to the podium. She remembered her distinctive scream. _Poor Joyna._

* * *

The day she was thrown out into the forest was as if the world stood still. All four of them sprinted to the "watch box" as Joyna stumbled outside with the other candidate, another South side man. The blood and sweat stained plexi-glass window let the inside townspeople view the sacrificers being faced against the Shentani Demons. Kalia remembered banging and screaming on the sound proof window, shouting for her to run. There were some North side boys and girls cheering and screaming malevolently for the Demons to rip them apart. Van reached over and got into a sprawl with a couple of them, but her and the other's eyes were too glued to Leeshof's frantic sister outisde. She, Leeshof, and Dayran wailed so loud that their lungs almost bled, crying for Joyna to run away from the forest. But, it was too late. Something dark and menacing, latched on Joyna's ankle and savagely dragged her into the dark forest. There was a terrible roar from outside of the town. Everything went dead silent as they all listened to Joyna's blood curtailing screams following with loud crunches of fragile bones. It was so agonizing and horrible that Kalia couldn't watch the other remaining man, and she ran home. She had never threw up nor cried more than that day.

* * *

"This sacrificing is so wrong…" Van shook with rage. They all vigorously shook the memory out of their minds. "Soon most of our families will be taken away, and then what?!"

"They make sacrifices to keep the Shentani Demons from killing the rest of our town." stated Dayran. "How else are we supposed to be protected?"

"Damn those bastards! They only choose the South sides to be sacrificed! It is because we aren't as 'important' or as 'rich'! Well that just puts a cherry on top of it all now doesn't it?" Van heaved hard, balling his hands into tight fists. Silence once again interrupted their conversations. They all knew what Van said was true, too true to do anything about.

"We could, escape…" Kalia finally proclaimed uneasily. They studied her with crazy expressions. She felt her confidence stir, " What else do we have going for us? I'm not technically supposed to even talk to you South sides! I'm tired of hiding. I'm tired of watching people die. It is so wrong! It is sick!"

"We wouldn't last a minute out there... if we escaped. There are so many Shentani… and they would kill us immediately." Leeshof pointed out depressingly.

Kalia was about to interject when a loud shouting interrupted her interposition.

"South sides! Get out of the North side now before you get thrown in jail!" cried out a North side town guard. He started running towards them in his lustrous green guard outfit. He swung a large metal club in the air as a warning. Kalia's friends quickly jumped out of the water and began to laugh and sprint away.

"See you at tomorrow Kalia! You are going to be a member of the South side!" Dayran called back to her with a wink. Kalia scrunched her eye brows in questioning and slowly walked out of the water towards the guard. Finally reaching him, she watched as he stopped and bent over to catch his breath.

"You…can't …." He paused to take a big gulp of air, standing up. "You can't be hanging out with them Miss Besnit." Stated the guard.

"Oh bite me Cory." Kalia snapped, pushing aside the shocked guard and stomped back to her house.

While she headed home, she tried to press this month's Sacrifice in the back of her mind. The thought kept popping back up in her mind though. She felt in the bottom of her gut that something bad was going to happen, something that would change the lives...of all of them.

**A/N: Hey guys, so I did a re-re-edit of my story. Brushed it up and hopefully fixed a few grammatical errors. I hope you guys like this. Please comment and help me out! Love critics!**


	2. Tattoos

Kalia and Dayran strolled through the South side of town the next day, sweating in the blistering heat. Kalia was grinning extensively, enjoying the freedom and crazy atmosphere in this part of Gual. To her, the South side could be described in four words: loud, grungy, wild, and free.

The two of them walked through rows of houses that were all tiny and muddled together. They were all black and were shaped in long rectangles and skinn squares all covered in heavy dirt and bright colourful graffiti. The roads were dusty and full of soot, which being kicked up into the thick dense air by people, who were scuttling around. Small venders cluttered the roads, loudly announcing what they were selling, which was anything imaginable: food, clothing, stray items, prosthetic body parts, live animals…dead ones. Stray dogs and children ran around in between Kalia's long legs; barking and screaming in thrill. The people bustling around could be termed as very unique characters. They were embellished with tattoos and piercings on every inch of their bodies. Their hair was dyed in a rainbow of colours and clothing was outrageously wild and tacky. Men wore skirts as tops and head garments. Shirts and pants were torn and stained in odd shapes and patterns. Many women wore globs of makeup on their faces and even strolled around mostly nude except for the makeup that covered the privates of their bodies. Even some men and women's reserved parts on their bodies, were only covered by a few beautiful peacock feathers; bought from local merchants. People were racing around; screaming, singing, and even stopping to have a fun chat with a neighbor or friend. Kalia perked up her ears to over hear loud music blaring around the corner. Kalia watched Dayran's eyes widen as she began to recognize the song playing.

"Ah! That is my favorite band! The Demon Killers!" she cried out in delight, racing towards a neon-yellow rock band strumming their glow-in-the-dark instruments down a pitch-black alley. They were surrounded by a huge group of hard-core, brightly coloured, head/hip bangers. Dayran beamed broadly, snapping her skull-tattooed fingers to the odd rhythm. Kalia laughed in satisfaction to her friend's enthusiasm, pulling her back along the path they were walking in. She absolutely loved it here. It was so much more free and diverse than the side of town she dwelled in.

Kalia grimaced, "_The North side_." It was such a huge bore in her eyes. The houses were large, white, and plain, with no character to them at all. The streets were made of concrete, and the people walking around always wore business suits and sophisticated attire. They were forbidden to get tattoos, piercings, coloured hair, or any crazy clothing. Unlike Dayran, whom had her ears, belly, and hips: pierced, clamped, painted, and tattooed; Kalia was completely bare. "

Such a dry bone place." she belittled.

As the two continued to walk through the town, some people spotted Kalia and gave her large grins and vociferous "HELLO's!" She returned slight waives in reply, not really wanting to have a full conversation. She was the only one from the North side that dared to come over into this part of Gual. She was well liked there though, mostly because she didn't look at them as freaky aliens but more as entertaining and engrossing people.

"Where are we going anyways?" Kalia finally asked her friend curiously. Dayran had told her that today was going to be a "big surprise and celebration", but she wouldn't say anything more than that. Kalia followed her as she quickly turned and bolted towards a small dark shop. The outside windows were draped with burgundy curtains, painted with toothy monsters and freaky immoral beings that you would only find in demon books. A small cracked sign hung above a small doorless doorway reading, "Dweller's Cavern." Curiously looking at Dayran, her witty friend gave her a devilish grin before entering the shop.

The place was dark and gloomy. It smelled like blood and old musty socks, and the air tasted moldy and sour. Scary photos of headless people and faceless _things_ scattered the walls, and a couple of layback chairs were scooted in the corner. There was one cracked mirror in the back that almost looked as if it was oozing green goop. A huge man stood behind a grimy glass counter, cleaning needles with a dirty cloth.

"Hey Boblin, snatch Lurine will ya? My friend is going to get a Fringo Starg today!" Dayran called to the man. The man eyed Kalia with deep interest before taking a glance at Kalia and nodding in a somewhat approval. In the misty light, she spotted four shiny lip piercings and green spider tattoo that seemed to be crawling down his forehead. Reaching over to a bell, he clinked it two times. Suddenly, a loud "CLASH" came from behind a curtained door on the right. A curse was shouted before a very dark, short, skinny lady, pushed through the cloth. She clutched a long sharp, red needle in one hand, while rubbing her surprisingly bald-head with the other. The lady named, "Lurine" glared up at Kalia with pitch black eyes coated behind shady lavender makeup.

"Dis is da gir' dat ya' was dawkin aboud, Dayran?" scoffed Lurine.

"What a strange accent." Kalia uttered to herself.

"She…won' be able da 'andle id." Kalia stared at Lurine with uneasiness. The lady made her feel somewhat uncomfortable. Her arms were dyed blue and yellow with ink. A small dragon tattoo slithered around the rims of her left eye and underneath the silver hoops that embedded it, bearing its white teeth at her. The dark tattoo blended in with her cocoa skin, which took its realism away, but it still made a shiver slink down her spine.

"Ah be nice Lurine. You heard about… the ceremony today. She has to get this." Dayran indicated in a silenter tone.

"Hmmm, yo' da' Nowth side dad eryone dalks abou', ain' ya? Da one dad ain' afraid da vis' dis pawd of down?"

"Do you have a problem with you're t's or something lady?" Kalia blurted out in annoyance. The lady curled up her lip and displayed a row of sharp teeth in retaliation, but ignored her comment.

"Well, if dat is drue, den I guess ya go'dda ged dis den?"

"Wait…what is… what is a Fringo… Fringo Starg? Dayran?" Kalia asked worriedly.

"No dime fo' questions! I'mma 'ave mo' customas soon." Lurine quickly pushed Kalia towards one of the worn leather black chairs in the back of the room, sinking her sharp finger nails in her back. Kalia patted her bulky yellow and green-strapped velvet pantsuit down. She had borrowed it from Dayran to look like a South sider today. Dayran decided to wear the same thing only in pink and purple, and she matched her hair and eyelashes with the outfit too.

"Close your eyes sweetie. This procedure has to chosen from the heart, ok? Now I'm going to name off three things and you are going to pick one." Dayran cooed. Kalia nodded, seeing that Dayran may have done this before. "Ok first. Chest, hip, or shoulder."

Kalia's eyes opened up in agonizing realization. "A tattoo?! I'm going to get a tattoo! My father will kill me!"

Lurine looked at Dayran with utter repugnance. "I dod ya say she be fine Dayran? Ya didn' dell me she ah frigid cad puss." Lurine mocked. Kalia turned around and gritted her teeth. Unfortunately, Lurine was right. She was scared, too scared to get a tattoo. "Your'ra, North side dru and dru."

That hit Kalia hard. No. She wouldn't be called one of them. She was different. She would prove it. Kalia looked up at her and gave the women a deathly glare, "I'm not a cat puss nor will I ever be. So why don't you butt out of our conversation and do your damn job by giving me a fierce tattoo." she had snapped. Flicking her head back and bracing herself, she laid her head back down on the headrest of the chair and re-closed her eyes.

"O honey, dis ain' no ordinar' daddoo…." She mumbled menacingly.

"Ok, so again. Chest, hip, or shoulder?" Dayran repeated, snickering slightly.

"Shoulder."

"Second one. Think hard, this will be for the rest of your life. Freedom, Protection, or Strength?"

Kalia had to stop and think about that for a second. "… Freedom. Definitely, freedom."

"Good. Ok, Swallow, Eagle, Hawk?"

"Wha…what does this have to do with the.."

"Jus' answa da question fas', please. I need da know whad do do gir." Lurine barked with irritation.

"Fine, uh Mustang."

"Last One." Proclaimed Dayran. ""Emboldening, pro..."

" Ol' on Dayr…. Dis gir… 'er palm." Lurine picked up Kalia's hand and pressed a callused thumb along the creased lines on her palm. "Dis is amazen ." She mused with incredulity. Kalia peeked her eyes open. "Keep yo eyes close gir'! I'm doin' all dree on er', Dayr. And she is geddin a swallow… she needs id." She paused in awe. "I haven' seen dis in year's…"

Quickly, a click and a snap were made and Kalia was flipped up in the air. While in mid-air, the chair immediately transformed into a table. Kalia fell down with a hard thud and moaned. Lurine straightaway ripped off a sleeve on Kalia's arm, exposing her tanned shoulder and started to sanitize it.

"Don't you think she should be unconscious if she get's all three?" Dayran inquired. Suddenly, in a blink of an eye, Lurine hit a pressure point on Kalia's shoulder knocking her out instantly.

* * *

Long after, Kalia finally came to. She wearily opened up her eyes to only see Van's face, smushed against her own. "So you finally got a Fringo Starg." He laughed heartedly. "This is gonna be one crazy celebration."

"Get away from my face Van…" she grumbled, pushing him away with one arm. Slowly getting up, Kalia realized she couldn't feel the left side of her shoulder. Reaching over to make sure it was still there, she grazed her long fingers over her skin. It was numb and thankfully, still all intact. Suddenly, she felt her fingertips glide over something bumpy. It moved up and down. She jumped up in shock and leaped off the chair. Heading towards the cracked mirror, she twisted around to observe her shoulder. The sight she saw made her mouth hang wide open and jaw drop to the floor. On the back of her shoulder was a real swallow embedded into her skin; perched on a lifelike tree branch. She touched it again to make sure it wasn't a real. It felt like her own skin, but it looked like a real bird. She stifled a scream as she watched with her very own eyes as the swallow hopped up and down and stretched its wings. Ruffling its feathers it blinked at her in curiosity. The branch that it was standing, suddenly scribbled the word "Freedom" in delicate cursive. It shimmered in cold in the dim light, moving slightly as the bird moved.

"Is it …real…?" gasped Kalia. Dayran, who popped from the darkness, came up behind her. Her smile was so wide that her ears could have clapped together behind her head.

"Very. These tattoos are old and ancient. The one you got … is surprising. No one has gotten that in such a long time. Only certain people do, and they are very rare… Each Fringo Starg that every person gets is unique to its owner. They protect them and guide them through life. Yours is different though. No one really knows what it really…does… but you are the only one that will be able to find out!"

Kalia looked back at the small sparrow on her shoulder. "How can this tiny thing be special?" she wondered. She peered back again to take a better look. The bird's feathers were emblazoned in sapphire and crimson. The feathers were oval shaped and each one had different divots and shades on each one. A blanket white streak ran across its small head as it snapped its small golden beak at her. The underbelly and chest of the bird was a sheik coal-black, and it puffed out a little as if to impress its owner.

"I chose a serpent myself." Dayran smiled, bending down to roll up her pants. She divulged a bulging, gold and silver python, slivering down her calve and around to her ankles. It hissed and flickered a purple tongue out at them.

Kalia squinted over at Van, putting her right arm on her hip. She couldn't move her left arm, or shoulder. It was completely sedated. "Do you have one too? How come you never told me about this?! "

Van nodded, sliding down the top of his pants slightly to reveal the top of a large burgundy-red dragonhead, spitting fireballs across his belt line. "We haven't told you because you weren't ready. But now, things may be changing with the Sacrifices. Everyone in the South side has decided to trust you enough to let you in on our secret. The North side banned these long ago for they felt that the South side would be too powerful with "these monster tattoos". Everyone has set them in a secret place because of this, and no one has told a single North side soul... until now. The thing is, they somehow scare demons too… not all of them, but some... some truly protect and guide you."

Leeshof all of the sudden, strolled into the shop. He spotted Kalia's shoulder. "Interesting… Do I have to show her mine now too?" he inquired lazily. Dayran walked over to him and rolled up a blue-splotched arm sleeve on his right forearm. She revealed a large gray shark, swimming around and snapping at her fingers. Kalia had always wondered why his arm shimmered as blue as the lake.

"Dey are called ow' gawdians." Stated Lurine from the corner of the shop. She was leaning on wall with her arms folded together watching Kalia's tattoo intently. "Someone dold me ya were comin here. A wise man dold me do giv' ya dad swallow. I says no do 'em. Bud no. He dold meh do look ad ya palm. Ya' always godda lisden do dem wise folk."

Kalia stared at Lurine peculiarly, before Van grabbed her on the arm and pulled her out of the shop. Kalia shuddered at the strange tone in Lurine's voice. It sounded dangerous and worried. Not good.

"So do I feed this thing or what? What do I do with it?" Kalia asked finally. The three of her friends chuckled.

"You don't need to feed it. You can name it if you want. Sometimes it engraves its own name for you. Depends what kind you got. You got yours on a place where you can't see all the time, so in times of need, it may move down towards the inside of your wrist." Stated Leeshof.

"Oh, by the way, you're going to be in a heavy load of pain once the numbness goes away. Especially with the type of Fringo you got." Dayran added. Kalia nodded, struggling to retain all of this information all at once.

Van handed her a brown leather jacket to cover up her tattoo. His warm eyes greeted hers, and she felt her cheeks burn. She had known Van all her life and had loved him from the deep of her heart. It was a brotherly/sisterly love though, but now it was starting to change. She suddenly felt a tingling on her left wrist. Taking her right hand, she grabbed her other arm and raise it up to her eyes. She watched intriguingly as a smaller version of her swallow appeared on her wrist. Beneath it, the twig it stood on began to twist into a scrawl of letters. She squinted her eyes to read the single word inscribed on her wrist.

"Accept"

The bird's black eyes shifted over to Van who was observing her with concern and careful observance.

"No thanks bird." She stated. Glancing back down at her wrist, a new word was replaced.

"Guthix"

The bird stared at her straight in the eyes.

"So that's your name then... Guthix. You are a male bird then? Very well. But I don't think your advice is very wise right now." With that, she rolled her sleeves down and ignored the tingling in her arm.

"Alright so does that sound good Kalia?" Dayran asked. Kalia looked at her friend blankly. She had missed out on their whole conversation while they were walking. "Come on Kalia, we are going to get you ready for the ceremony for tonight. We'll meet up with you two later!" She cried to the two boys, giving Leeshof a sloppy kiss on his lips. Leeshof gave a goofy smile, pushing up the green-rimmed glasses he had on today.

"Wait, tonight? My father will suspect that I am in the South side! I'll never be allowed back here. You know how much he hates all of you." Kalia said shamefully.

Dayran stopped and gave Kalia a "really?" kind of look. "Hon trust me, it is a risk you are gonna have to take if you want full trust and respect from us South siders. Come on." Kalia sighed and gave in, letting Dayran drag her down the cruddy streets towards to where ever they were heading. What she didn't know was this ceremony was big, and it would change her life for ever.

**N/A: Hope you guys like this second chapter! More will keep coming! What is going to happen at the ceremony? Why did Kalia get an important Fringo Starg? HMm please review and comment and the next chapter will be uploaded hopefully sooner! Ciao for now!**


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